One of my old neighbours, Breeds Cairn terriers, Right she has 2 bitches and one stud, She always uses her stud on her bitches, Both bitches are on there 5th litters, and average 5 to 7 puppies each time.
She has just been informed by one of her recent litter owners, That a bitch puppy of 29 weeks, Has Cmo, Her vet told her this is common in westies and cairns, And is passed on by both parents, The puppy in question had a lump in her upper jaw, No pain was eating normal and acting normal, the owner was just worried about the lump, The vet operated on the dog, Did an x ray, And as far as I can gather, Sent the dog home after just 2 hours, With a weeks course of antibiotics, Saying that she had westie jaw, And not to worry as it would just dissapear.
My question is I have heard of CMO, But have never seen it, And only know what I have read in books, Now correct me if I am wrong, I am led to believe that CMO is very painful, It is also supposed to stop the animal from eating and drinking, And athough not proven, Is passed on by parents, If this were the case surely one of the other 50 puppies from this same breeding line, would have had CMO to, But my old neighbour, Managed to contact over 46 owners, And all there dogs were fine.
Now i am going to be careful with this next bit, As i do not want to offend, The owners vets first question, Was is the dog insured, Then asked if this was there first cairn terrier, It was and there dog was insured, Lucky for them, But the best bit is yet to come, The owner asked the vet if she could breed from this bitch when the bitch was older, The vet said YES.
Now either Im going mad, Or the books are wrong, Which one is it.
Any advice would be gratefuly recieved, As my old neighbour, Has not got a computer and has been calling alll day.

Paraphrased from the Cairn Terrier Relief Fund Booklet

CMO has been reported in Cairns. It is not common. Pain is usually the first sign - when eating or when having its head or mouth touched. However, cases have been known where there does not appear to be much discomfort. Confirmation of CMO is by X-Ray. Mild cases only anti-inflammatory drugs may be necessary, the puppy making a complete recovery so that by 2-3 years of age it is not possible to tell the puppy has suffered from CMO.

CMO is inherited as a simple autosomal recessive trait - i.e. BOTH parents must carry at least one gene for CMO. The production of a CMO puppy proves that both parents are carriers.

So, I would suggest that your friend ask for the X-rays and take them to another vet for evaluation. With that many puppies bred your friend is uncommonly lucky not to have CMO show up before.

Stacey

Thankyou to stacey,
My friend has today, taken the puppy with the owners consent to see 3 different vets with the x ray that the owner had obtained from her vets, All three vets said the lump was not CMO but a large absess.
So now I am leaving the owner and breeder to it as they are seeking legal advise.
All I can say is that the vet in question had only been practacing for a number of months.
I am grateful for the advice, And have looked up loads on the net for my friend, Whom is also very grateful, So thank you again

Bliss,

I am glad it worked out as it did, what a shame everyone had to be put through such distress for nothing. As well as putting the puppy through surgery, perhaps for nothing. Perhaps if the vet had not been so inexperienced after realising in surgery that the diagnosis was wrong he/she would have told the owners. They would have been relieved to find out the lump had only been an abscess.

Stacey